Tag Archives: drought

California’s Amazing Terminal Lakes

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Andrew Rypel

By Peter B. Moyle When Californians talk of lakes, they usually mean reservoirs, the 1500 or so artificial bodies of water behind dams. Alternately, they may be referring to the 4,000 or so natural lakes in the Sierra Nevada or … Continue reading →

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California Enacts Major Water Law Reform Legislation–But More Changes Are Needed

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Andrew Rypel

By Richard M. Frank Note: this blog is a cross-post first published on Legal Planet. The California Legislature has enacted and Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law SB 389, an important water law reform measure authored by State Senator … Continue reading →

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The myth of normal river flow: Drought, floods, and management of California’s rivers

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Andrew Rypel

By Julie Zimmerman, Jennifer Carah, Kirk Klausmeyer, Bronwen Stanford, Monty Schmitt, Mia Van Docto, Mary Ann King, and Matt Clifford Is California still experiencing drought? Even after a winter of record rainfall and snowpack, followed by a tropical storm, this … Continue reading →

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Evolution of Drought Response and Resilience in California’s Cities

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Andrew Rypel

By Erik Porse Drought is a regular event in California. In recent decades, California has experienced five prolonged drought periods (1976-77, 1987-1992, 2007-09, 2011-16, 2020-22). Urban water agencies have responded with investments in supply and demand management measures, which have … Continue reading →

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This Drought is Dead – Long Live the Drought

Posted on March 26, 2023 by Andrew Rypel

by Jay Lund and Andrew L. Rypel Floods and droughts are not opposites and can occur simultaneously. This occurs often in California and is especially well-illustrated this year. Floods, droughts, and water scarcity are different. Floods are too much water … Continue reading →

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Is the Drought Over? Reflections on California’s Recent Flood-Drought Combo

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Andrew Rypel

By Andrew L. Rypel, Jay Lund, and Carson Jeffres Early January was an unusually wild ride of atmospheric rivers. Nine sizable systems produced a train of storms beginning about New Years and lasting for several weeks across almost all of … Continue reading →

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California’s continued drought

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Andrew Rypel

By Andrew L. Rypel As California’s drought deepens, it is worth checking in on the status of water supplies and what might be in store for the rest of the summer, and beyond. What started with the promise of a … Continue reading →

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Demystifying mist as a source of water supply

Posted on June 5, 2022 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

By Jay Lund (originally posted in 2015) In some of the world’s driest places, atmospheric moisture is a major source of water for native ecosystems. Some algae, plants and insects in the Israeli and Namibian deserts get much of their water … Continue reading →

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Science of an underdog: the improbable comeback of spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Andrew Rypel

By Andrew L. Rypel, Gabriel Singer, and Nann A. Fangue “You can’t design a worse evolutionary strategy for the Anthropocene” There are many variants on this quote, and we’ve heard them often in reference to the status of native fishes … Continue reading →

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Can one atmospheric river end California’s drought?

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Andrew Rypel

By Andrew L. Rypel and Jay Lund Given the quantity and intensity of last week’s rain, an obvious question is: ‘Is the drought over?’ Alas, the answer is a resounding no. But, the data are interesting and worth thinking about … Continue reading →

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